Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education released the 2021-2022 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students who wish to receive federal aid for higher education must submit a FAFSA each year. Additionally, many states and institutions use the information collected through the FAFSA to determine eligibility for state, institutional, and other aid, so students should complete their FAFSA as soon as possible to ensure maximum aid eligibility.

 

 

As a reminder, unaccompanied homeless youth (UHY), as defined by the education subtitle of the McKinney-Vento Act, qualify as independent students for purposes of federal financial aid. This means that their aid package is calculated solely on their own income and assets [not those of their parent(s)/guardian(s)], and they do not need to submit parent information or a parent signature on their FAFSA.

 

 

As a reminder, the McKinney-Vento Act requires local homeless education liaisons to ensure that UHY are informed and receive verification of their independent student status (See question Q-2 of the U.S. Department of Education's  Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program Non-Regulatory Guidance). Additionally, directors of emergency shelters or transitional housing programs funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, directors of runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living programs, and financial aid administrators (FAAs) also may make determinations of independent status for UHY. FAAs are required to make these determinations in the absence of a determination by a liaison, HUD program, or RHY program (see pg AVG-133 of the  Application and Verification Guide: 2020-2021).   

 

 

It is recommended that young people complete the FAFSA online, as FAFSA on the Web uses skip logic and other tools to make the submission process simpler. For a preview of the UHY independent status questions, see questions 55-57 of the PDF FAFSA (English | Spanish).

 

 

For more information on independent student status for UHY, visit https://nche.ed.gov/higher-education/, or contact the NCHE homeless education helpline at 800.308.2145 or homeless@serve.org.

 

Best,

Christina